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Chapter 72
‘I’d like to dig a little more out of him, but…’
But…Carlton’s companion liked Morrison–even now, the young lord was smiling as if he had been praised. So, Carlton decided to give up for now.
“Can you say a prayer before we lock him up, Revered Pilgrim?” Morrison requested Luisen.
“Of course. Though, since I’m not a priest, it won’t have much of an effect…”
“Yes. You’re not a priest. However, what matters is the thought.”
It wasn’t too difficult to pray, so Luisen stepped forward. Morrison held the ghoul at bay with a stick; Carlton stood by the young lord’s side, ready to protect the young lord by clearing away threats at any time.
Luisen looked at the ghoul properly for the first time in his life. Its darkened complexion, drained of flowing blood, and its bulging rotten-fish-like eyes really pinpointed clearly the fact that it was a corpse and not a living being. Despite the fact that the lord had seen many dead bodies before, it still wasn’t a pleasant sight. However, something caught his eye.
There was a rash behind its ears and the area in which the jaw and neck connected. Strangely, though, the rash wasn’t the standard red color but a yellowish green.
‘Green?’
Had something been smudged onto the corpse? Luisen took out a handkerchief and rubbed at its skin.
‘Ah, it’s not coming off.’
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“What are you doing?” Carlton, startled by Luisen’s eccentric behavior, grabbed the young lord’s wrist and pulled him away. He took the handkerchief from the young lord’s hand and flung it far away–like it was a bundle of germs. Luisen exclaimed at the sudden movement.
Even the members of the Allos caravan and Morrison were viewing the young lord strangely.
“It looked like something was on its skin…” Luisen said futilely.
The mercenary cautiously looked underneath the ghoul’s chin, where Luisen had been rubbing. “There are some discolored spots underneath its chin. Was that always there?”
“No, he never had something like a mole before… Ah, you’re right! There’s a green spot there… Is that something weird?” asked the man from the Allos caravan, a bit dumbly.
“In the first place, a person’s blood is red, so most spots are red, dark red, or brown. Never green. After all, People aren’t plants or trees. Were there spots like this on the other people?” Carlton replied with a sneer.
“…I’m not sure.”
“You really have no idea? Does that make sense? This thing is green, not red–how could you not notice it? Are you perhaps hiding things deliberately? Should I go ask this question to others?”
At Carlton’s intimidating aura, the man from the Allos caravan whimpered. “Our party collapsed all at once; do you think I’d have time to observe anything? There’s even a moving corpse! And, if a dead body were to move…wouldn’t it be understandable that the skin might be bruised blue or green?” 1
“So you say.” Carlton said casually, as if he couldn’t understand why the other was angry. “Are you asking me?” Carlton asked, shrugging at the Allos merchant’s protests.
On the other hand, the man looked at the mercenary with a dumbfounded expression. Luisen fell into deep thought, undisturbed by the fuss happening around him. He was used to this sort of behavior from Carlton.
‘A green spot…green… It’s unnatural…’ Something was on the tip of his tongue, but no matter how the young lord rifled through his memories, no answer appeared. Luisen wracked through his head for dear life. ‘I feel like if I just look at it a bit more, something will come to mind.’
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However, the ghoul’s body had already begun to decompose. The skin peeking through the clothes had already begun to turn black; looking at something like that would be meaningless. He steeled his resolve; he would have to meet the members of the caravan that were showing similar symptoms to the dead man.
Morrison looked at the still and rigid young lord and asked, “Do you have any theories about this disease?”
“Ah, no,” Luisen said evasively. The issue was just too critical for him to voice his half-formed, unclear hypotheses. Luisen cleared his throat, “Ahem. Let’s pray for the dead.”
Luisen cleared his mind and gathered his hands together. Everyone put their hands together to pray except for Carlton, who was pressing down on the ghoul with a stick to keep it immobile.
The sounds of people trying to escape and the low tone of prayers echoed throughout the empty restaurant. Luisen’s voice was calm and enunciated clearly, soothing his audience’s minds. The man from the Allos caravan echoed the prayer earnestly. He knew that pilgrims had no power–they were different from priests–but they prayed that a miracle would happen and that the dead would be able to rest in peace.
There was no miracle after the prayer. The ghoul wouldn’t understand the prayer made specifically for it; it simply wandered around while flinging its arms. The man from the caravan sobbed at that sight.
Carlton was the one who directed the ghoul into the storeroom. He simply corrected its directionless wanderings with a stick, so it went into the room on its own. It was exactly as Luisen had explained–despite its horrible appearance, the ghoul was weak. For some reason, this experience reminded the mercenary of the time he pushed a colt into a stable.
Meanwhile, Luisen stood by the person from the caravan and soothed him. “It’ll be alright,” he said.
After much reassurance, the man finally regained composure, “Thank you so much. Really–thank you.”
“I’m so sorry this has happened to you. Everyone here has joined forces to pray to the Lord Almighty for peace for that man’s soul. Now, God shall take care of it.”
“Ngh, Hngh, Yes. I suppose so. I hope so…” Overwhelmed by emotion, the man from the Allos caravan clamped his mouth shut.
Luisen, cautiously so that the others wouldn’t hear the awkwardness he felt, asked, “I heard that the other members of the caravan have collapsed. Is that true?”
“T-That’s…”
“We need to gain an understanding of the situation in order to act accordingly. I’m not trying to pin blame on you.”
“…What’s the point of poking around now? That’s right–everyone has collapsed except for me… This is probably an epidemic.”
“Oh my…”
“…I-I really have no idea what to do…!” The guilt made the man stay up all night; right now, confessions poured out as if he had rushed to the church first thing in the morning.
He introduced himself as Cullen. Cullen was originally hired as a servant for the caravan; actually, he was a handyman who cleaned up after the members. He had no authority and no say in their peddling. However, everyone else had collapsed, and he was the only one left.
Taking care of the sick, handling the ghoul, and hiding the disease…During his struggles, the ghoul escaped, and the truth behind this supposed infectious disease had spread in a catastrophic way.
“Now, I really have no idea what I should do. Our caravan members are going to die, and I’m going to die as well!” Cullen was absolutely terrified. No matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no way forward except to die of the plague or throw himself into the river before he was beaten to death by an angry crowd.
“For now, please calm yourself. Take a deep breath…That’s good. It’ll be alright. You, Mr. Cullen, are not alone. I’ll help you.” Luisen said.
Cullen’s eyes widened, “R-Really?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“We’re on the same boat. And I’ve chosen to wander the world, following God’s teachings, never to turn a blind eye to those in need.”
“Ah…..!”
The red glow of the sunset shone through the window down onto Luisen’s head. It looked like a halo. The first glance of Luisen’s mouth, which was revealed through the bottom of the hood, looked so beautiful while smiling–like a painting of mercy.
“R-Revered Pilgrim…” Cullen was speechless from gratitude. Instead, he expressed his feelings by clasping Luisen’s two hands.
“Isn’t he being too clingy?” Carlton glared at Cullen. He struggled to resist the urge to separate the handyman from the young lord. Luisen seemed to have something he wanted to uncover from the man, so Carlton didn’t want to interrupt; however, he was dissatisfied with how close the man was to his young lord.
‘How can he seduce a person with his face all covered? It’s a good thing we covered the Duke’s face–100 times out of 100, I’d do it again. Otherwise, he may start a religion based on his looks here and there,’ the mercenary thought.
Regardless of Carlton’s roiling thoughts, a holy and peaceful vibe settled in the restaurant. Morrison silently watched the two, as if he were deeply impressed. The sunset continued on its path, and the red light now stretched to include Morrison as well.
***
Cullen led Luisen, Carlton, and Morrison to the room that his caravan resided in. He stood next to Luisen, telling the young lord this and that unprompted. Now that he met someone who said they’d help in his time of need, the man opened up completely. “I joined the caravan a bit late and didn’t get along with the others. Actually, I felt out of place. They always left me to mind the cargo while they ate and drank among themselves…”
So, Cullen lamented, that may be the reason that he’s the only healthy person in his group. “I’m relieved because of you, Revered Pilgrim. If you hadn’t offered help at the restaurant, I would be unable to do anything on my own.”
Luisen appreciated the thanks, but… The young lord looked back awkwardly. “Mr. Morrison was the first to come forward though…”
Luisen had left the restaurant and returned later. Shouldn’t Morrison, who came to the restaurant before him, be the one to receive all of these praises?
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However, Cullen looked a little sour. “Ah, yes. That’s right. I’m also grateful to Mr. Morrison.” He bowed awkwardly to the merchant.